The present invention relates generally to communication setting apparatus and methods for setting various communication condition parameters necessary for communication (i.e. transmission/reception) of tone performance data and other related data. Particularly, the present invention relates to an improved communication setting apparatus and method which allows a user to promptly set, through simple operation, various communication condition parameters, in a collective fashion, that have to be set for communicating tone performance data between an electronic musical instrument or other device and external equipment.
Typical example of the conventionally-known electronic musical instruments can generate tones not only on the basis of tone performance data (such as MIDI signals) generated by that electronic musical instrument (hereinafter also called an “electronic musical instrument of interest” where necessary), but also on the basis of tone performance data received from external equipment, such as a sequencer, personal computer or other electronic musical instrument, that are connected to the musical instrument of interest. In addition, the electronic musical instrument can also be set so as to transmit tone performance data to external equipment, such as an external tone generator module, personal computer terminal or other musical instrument, connected to the electronic musical instrument of interest so that the connected external equipment can generate tones on the basis of the tone performance data transmitted from the electronic musical instrument of interest. Namely, the typical example of the conventionally-known electronic musical instrument controls itself and the connected external equipment so that either the electronic musical instrument of interest or the connected external equipment can generate tones on the basis of tone performance data communicated as necessary therebetween.
However, in order to control the electronic musical instrument of interest and connected external equipment to allow them to generate tones on the basis of tone performance data and other related data communicated as necessary between the electronic musical instrument of interest and the connected external equipment, it is necessary for the electronic musical instrument to appropriately set various communication condition parameters for establishing conditions for tone performance data communication between the electronic musical instrument and the external equipment. However, the conventional electronic musical instruments are not satisfactory in that it is necessary to individually set a plurality of communication condition parameters and such setting of the communication condition parameters is time-consuming and hence very inefficient. Further, for those users who don't know which of the plurality of communication condition parameters should be set and how such communication condition parameters should be set, it is quite difficult to accurately set the communication condition parameters.